GS 106 - Introduction to Physical Geology

8. Why would the use of coal change by so much between 2000 and 2100? How will the effect the amount of carbon that is in the atmosphere? Does the amount of carbon in the atmosphere increase more greatly between 2000 and 2050 or 2050 and 2100? What does that suggest about the amount of CO2 released by the combustion of coal in comparison to the combustion of oil and natural gas?

Answer: The use of coal increases by a huge amount between 2000 and 2100 because the reservoirs of natural gas and oil run out completely. And because of the increased use of coal, more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere between 2050 and 2100 than before that timeframe. This suggests that combustion of coal adds more CO2 to the atmosphere than the combustion of natural gas and oil.

9. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, meaning is absorbs terrestrial emissions of infrared energy and reemits that energy back towards the Earth’s surface. Name 2 natural sources of carbon dioxide and 2 human produced sources of carbon dioxide. Will a greater concentration of CO2 increase or decrease the greenhouse effect and how could this effect the overall temperature of the Earth?

Answer: Any two of the following are natural sources; plant and animal respiration, volcanic eruption, soil respiration and decomposition, and ocean-atmosphere exchange. The human produced sources include; fossil fuel combustion for transportation and electricity production, industrial creation, and land use changes. The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere increases the greenhouse effect, meaning that more infrared heat is absorbed by greenhouse gases and reemitted towards Earth’s surface increasing global temperature.

15) The data for this graph is fairly famous. Why is data taken in Hawaii more reliable in terms of measuring CO2 than say places within the continental USA? There is also a clear zigzag to the graph’s data, what is creating this yearly fluctuation of CO2? (Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of the Interior/NOAA)

Picture: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2006/images/mauna-loa-co2-1955-2005.jpg

Answer: Hawaii is more reliable than really any other place on Earth because the area has a low population and is very far from any continent. This low population and density prevents inflated measurements of CO2, because there are no large sources of carbon dioxide like a huge amount of cars or industry near by. The fluctuations that of CO2 recorded in the graph are due to the changing of the seasons. In the winter and early spring there are no leaves on the trees and vegetation, and so less photosynthesis takes place and CO2 increases in the atmosphere. In the summer and fall, photosynthesis increases so atmospheric CO2 decreases globally.